Rue du Clape en Bas - just inside the
town's 16th century ramparts
Club de Canoe-Kayak: lessons and group facilities on the
river Canche where once there thrived a medieval
port.
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Montreuil-sur-mer, a
medieval port
You are standing on the old ramparts of
Montreuil,
looking out over the valley of the river Canche towards the
sea at Etaples. Back in the 13th century this town -
known as "Montreuil-on-sea" - was one of the wealthiest
ports in northern Europe. The estuary of the River Canche
then reached up to Montreuil; its quays thronged with
sailing ships carrying pilgrims to the holy relics in
Montreuil's churches, and trading cloth (some woven in the
town), grain and wine. Above the port, on the 40m high chalk
hill, stood the walled town and market place - all guarded
by a royal castle built by French king Philippe
Auguste.
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16th century France's
frontier fort
By the 16th century, the river had silted up and the old
port was quiet. Montreuil became militarily important
because it lay on France's northern frontier with Spain. The
rest of the Artois
area, with its capital Arras, and all of Flanders was ruled
by Spain.
Besieged
In 1522 Henry VIII of England and Charles V
("Charles
Quint") of Spain combined forces
to besiege the town's aged medieval walls, but failed. In
1537, another siege succeeded; Montreuil was sacked, leaving
the town and the Abbey Church of Saint-Saulve partly ruined.
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..
Victor Hugo - best-selling French author of the 19th
century, set his novel "Les Misérables" in
Montreuil.
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Built after the 1537 raid.
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Walled town
rebuilt
French king François I recaptured the town, and
ordered the its fortifications to be updated. By 1567,
military engineers had made Montreuil a French border
stronghold against the might of Spain - with a bastions
along the walls, earthworks, and a new citadelle on the
weakpoint where there was a gentle slope to the river. Only
two entrance towers remained of the old medieval castle.
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Louis
XIV
Success in 17th century wars moved France's frontier
north and west. Montreuil was no longer on the front line,
but Louis
XIV's military engineer
Vauban
completed the modernisation of the ramparts, adding a new
arsenal and gunpowder-store as part of his work in securing
the region for France.
Victor Hugo &
“Les
Misérables”
By the 19th century, Montreuil was a sleepy medieval town on
the coaching road from Calais to Paris. Famous writer
Victor
Hugo spent a brief stay here and
was inspired to use it as the setting for his famous novel
about the turbulent years of the Napoleonic Empire and the
1830 revolution. You can see an outdoor spectacle based on
the novel, and tours of places in the town connected with
the story.
First World
War
Later, Montreuil was the headquarters of the British Army in
France during World War I. General Haig stayed in a chateau
near the town
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General Haig had his HQ in Montreuil
for part of the First World War
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